The Rogues' Gallery
Historical Figures
The extraordinary, the eccentric, and the downright bizarre people who made history strange.
Modern
Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov
Emperor of All Russia
May 18, 1868 – July 17, 1918
Ancient
Milo of Croton
Olympic Wrestler
6th Century BC, Croton – Late 6th Century BC
Medieval
John of Leiden
Anabaptist Leader and King of Münster
1509, Leiden – January 22, 1536
Royal Courts
Thomas Urquhart
Scottish Writer and Polymath
1611, Cromarty – 1660
Victorian
James Barry
Inspector General of Hospitals
c. 1789, Cork – July 25, 1865
Modern
Étienne-Gaspard Robert
Physicist and Stage Magician
June 15, 1763, Liège – July 2, 1837
Royal Courts
Lady Jane Grey
Queen of England
1537 – 1554
Royal Courts
Tekle Giyorgis I
Emperor of Ethiopia
Unknown – 1817
Modern
Mohammed Zahir Shah
King of Afghanistan
1914 – 2007
Victorian
Katharine Lee Bates
College Professor and Poet
1859 – 1929
Ancient
Qin Shi Huang
First Emperor of China
259 BC – 210 BC
Medieval
Damasus II
Pope of the Catholic Church
Unknown – 1048
Modern
Douglas Corrigan
Aviator
1907 – 1995
Modern
Georg Anton Schäffer
Physician and Rogue Agent
1779 – 1836
Medieval
William Prynne
Pamphleteer and Lawyer
1600 – 1669
Modern
Kikunae Ikeda
Chemist and Professor
1864 – 1936
Modern
Muhammad Ahmad
Mahdi of Sudan
1844 – 1885
Medieval
Li Shimin (Emperor Taizong)
Emperor of the Tang Dynasty
598 – 649
Victorian
Thomas Cook
Founder of the Travel Industry
1808 – 1892
Victorian
Charles Blondin
Acrobat and Tightrope Walker
1824 – 1897
Ancient
Aelia Pulcheria
Augusta and Regent of the Byzantine Empire
399 – 453
Royal Courts
Athanasius Kircher
Jesuit Polymath
May 2, 1602 – November 27, 1680
Medieval
St. Simeon Stylites
Byzantine Ascetic
c. 390 – September 2, 459
Medieval
Gilles de Rais
Marshal of France
c. 1405 – October 26, 1440
Victorian
John Mytton
British MP and Squire
September 30, 1796 – March 29, 1834
Victorian
Dr. Charles White
Physician
1728 – 1813
Victorian
James Clark Ross
Explorer
1800 – 1862
Modern
Peter von Scholten
Governor-General
1784 – 1854
Royal Courts
Henry VIII
King of England
28 June 1491 – 28 January 1547
Victorian
Matthew Robinson, 2nd Baron Rokeby
English Nobleman and Eccentric
1712, York – November 30, 1800
Victorian
Clement Vallandigham
American Lawyer and Politician
July 29, 1820, New Lisbon, Ohio – June 17, 1871
Royal Courts
Chevalier d'Eon
French Diplomat and Spy
October 5, 1728, Tonnerre – May 21, 1810
Royal Courts
Peter the Wild Boy
Feral Child and Court Fixture
c. 1713, Hamelin – February 22, 1785
Modern
Dr. Harvey Washington Wiley
Chemist and Food Safety Pioneer
1844 – 1930
Victorian
Madame Delphine LaLaurie
Socialite and Notorious Slaveowner
1787 – 1849
Victorian
Hannah Beswick
Heiress and Mummy
1710 – 1868
Victorian
King Ludwig II of Bavaria
Eccentric Monarch
1845 – 1886
Royal Courts
Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg
Queen of Sweden
November 11, 1599 – March 28, 1655
Victorian
Giovanni Aldini
Italian Physicist and Showman
January 10, 1762 – January 17, 1834
Victorian
George Parrott
American Outlaw
March 20, 1834 – March 22, 1881
Victorian
Sarah Winchester
Heiress to the Winchester Fortune
September 1839 – September 5, 1922
Modern
Unity Mitford
Socialite and Writer
August 8, 1914 – May 28, 2002
Victorian
Julia Pastrana
Performer and Singer
1834, Sierra Madre – 25 March 1860
Modern
Carl Tanzler
Radiology Technician
8 February 1877, Dresden – 3 July 1952
Modern
Michael Malloy
Indigent and Former Fireman
1873, County Donegal – 22 February 1933
Ancient
Diogenes of Sinope
Philosopher
c. 412 BC, Sinope – 323 BC
Royal Courts
Tarrare
French showman and soldier
1772, near Lyon – 1798
Victorian
William Buckland
Geologist and Dean of Westminster
March 12, 1784, Axminster – August 14, 1856
Royal Courts
Timothy Dexter
American businessman and eccentric
January 19, 1747, Malden – October 23, 1806
Victorian
Mary Baker
The Princess Caraboo
1791, Witheridge – January 4, 1864
Modern
Elmer McCurdy
Outlaw and traveling mummy
January 1880, Washington, Maine – October 7, 1911
Ancient
Herostratus
Ancient Greek Arsonist
Unknown, Ephesus – 356 BCE
Medieval
Pope Formosus
Bishop of Rome
c. 816, Ostia – 896
Royal Courts
Mary Toft
The Rabbit Breeder of Godalming
1701, Godalming – 1763
Victorian
Joshua Abraham Norton
Emperor of the United States
Feb 4, 1818, Deptford – Jan 8, 1880
Modern
Franz Reichelt
The Flying Tailor
Oct 16, 1878, Wegstädtl – Feb 4, 1912
Royal Courts
Alexandra Feodorovna
Empress Consort of Russia
June 6, 1872 – July 17, 1918
Royal Courts
Mary Stuart
Queen of Scots
December 8, 1542 – February 8, 1587
Royal Courts
Catherine Parr
Queen of England and Ireland
August 1512 – September 5, 1548
Royal Courts
Lucrezia Borgia
Duchess of Ferrara
1480 – 1519
Ancient
Caligula - Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus
Roman Emperor
August 31, 12 AD – January 24, 41 AD
Victorian
Joseph Carey Merrick
The Elephant Man
August 5, 1862 – April 11, 1890
Royal Courts
Catherine II (Catherine the Great)
Empress of Russia
May 2, 1729 – November 17, 1796
Victorian
Alexandrina Victoria
Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Empress of India
May 24, 1819 – January 22, 1901
Victorian
Elizabeth Cochran Seaman (Nellie Bly)
Pioneering Investigative Journalist
May 5, 1864 – January 27, 1922
Modern
Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia
Grand Duchess of Russia
June 18, 1901 – July 17, 1918
Royal Courts
Mary I of England
Queen of England and Ireland
February 18, 1516 – November 17, 1558
Royal Courts
Catherine of Aragon
Queen of England
December 16, 1485 – January 7, 1536
Ancient
Boudica
Queen of the Iceni
c. 30 CE – c. 60-61 CE
Royal Courts
Galileo Galilei
Astronomer and Physicist
15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642
Royal Courts
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci
Renaissance Polymath
April 15, 1452 – May 2, 1519
Medieval
Vlad the Impaler
Voivode of Wallachia
1431 – 1476
Royal Courts
Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin
Mystic and Advisor to the Romanovs
1869 – 1916
Medieval
An-Nasir Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub
First Sultan of Egypt and Syria
1137 – 1193
Ancient
Sun Tzu
General and Military Strategist
c. 544 BC – c. 496 BC
Medieval
Oda Nobunaga
First Great Unifier of Japan
June 23, 1534 – June 21, 1582
Ancient
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus
Roman Emperor and Stoic Philosopher
April 26, 121 AD – March 17, 180 AD
Medieval
Joan of Arc
The Maid of Orléans
c. 1412 – May 30, 1431
Medieval
Genghis Khan (born Temüjin)
Founder and First Great Khan of the Mongol Empire
c. 1162 – August 1227
Modern
Malcolm X
Civil Rights Leader and Minister
May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965
Modern
Martin Luther King Jr.
Civil Rights Leader and Reverend
January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968
Victorian
Abraham Lincoln
16th President of the United States
February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865
Royal Courts
Sir Isaac Newton
Physicist, Mathematician, and Master of the Mint
1642 – 1727
Modern
Benjamin Franklin
Founding Father and Polymath
January 17, 1706 – April 17, 1790
Ancient
Alexander III of Macedon
King of Macedon, Pharaoh of Egypt, King of Persia, Lord of Asia
356 BC – 323 BC
Ancient
Gaius Julius Caesar
Dictator of the Roman Republic
July 12, 100 BC – March 15, 44 BC
Royal Courts
Napoléon Bonaparte
Emperor of the French
August 15, 1769 – May 5, 1821
Ancient
Cleopatra VII Philopator
Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt
69 BC – 30 BC
Medieval
Louis IX of France
King of France
April 25, 1214 – August 25, 1270
Medieval
Blanche of Castile
Queen of France and Queen Regent
4 March 1188 – 27 November 1252
Royal Courts
Empress Dowager Cixi
Empress Dowager of the Qing Dynasty
November 29, 1835 – November 15, 1908
Royal Courts
Charles II of Spain
King of Spain
November 6, 1661 – November 1, 1700
Royal Courts
Maria Antonia of Austria
Electress Consort of Bavaria
January 18, 1669 – December 24, 1692
Victorian
Elisabeth Amalie Eugenie
Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary
December 24, 1837 – September 10, 1898
Royal Courts
Anne Boleyn
Queen Consort of England
c. 1501 – May 19, 1536
Royal Courts
Marie Antoinette Josèphe Jeanne
Queen of France and Navarre
1755 – 1793
Royal Courts
George William Frederick (George III)
King of Great Britain and Ireland
1738 – 1820
Royal Courts
Elizabeth I
Queen of England and Ireland
September 7, 1533 – March 24, 1603
Royal Courts
Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
Queen Consort of Great Britain and Ireland
1744 – 1818